Centre fighting cybercrime opens in Cardiff

A centre dedicated to tackling cybercrime formally opens in Cardiff next week.

The Airbus Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Analytics, based at Cardiff University’s School of Computer Science and Informatics, is the first of its kind in Europe.

Researchers working with experts from Airbus will study machine learning, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to help protect corporate IT networks, intellectual property, and critical national infrastructure.

Cardiff University’s Dr Pete Burnap, Director of the Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security Analytics, said: “Cardiff University has a reputation for research excellence with world-leading impact. Our work on advanced malware classification and dynamic risk modelling are being transitioned into industrial applications that provide an increased level of sophistication for cybersecurity products and services in an era of ever-evolving threats to national and international infrastructure on which society and the economy heavily depend..."

"Our Airbus Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security Analytics provides a mechanism to integrate with both the local Cyber Wales ecosystem and the Global EPIC programme, putting us right at the heart of innovation and impact in the cyber security domain."

“Cyber specialists from Wales have forged relationships with many European cyber clusters, such as Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. We are proud to be a founder member of this global “ecosystem of ecosystems”, which is another step forward for the Welsh cyber community and recognition that Wales really is a hub for cybersecurity expertise on the global stage.

Cardiff University has recently been awarded almost £2m in funding from sources including UK research councils, industry and government to launch new projects aimed at developing cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to detect cyber threats.

Together, Cardiff University and Airbus have already received more than £1m of funding for cybersecurity, including studying risks to the systems underpinning critical national infrastructure, part-funded by the Endeavr programme backed by Airbus and Welsh Government.